West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-12-02
WHY ALABAMA DEVELOPS FAS-
TER THAN WEST VA.
Comment by Greenbrier.


Alabama increased her taxable prop
erty 80 millions in ten years. The coun-
ty in which Birmingham is located in
creased last year 5000, OOO.-Bdtto. Sun
of Noe. 4.
1t so haLpens,>we have a personal
knowledge of good deal of the in
side history of the movement cap
ital to Alabama. Some very infu
entail bankers induced her to settle
her debt. The bondholders paid
these bankers a large fee for nego-
tiating the settlement, and ever since
then these bankers have been active
to turn capital to that State. The
bondholders also have done all they
could to build up Alabama. These
bankers and these bondholders boom
the State.-If she had initiated Vir-
ginia and West Virginia. she would
have been boycotted by capital. Ais
bama owes her prosperity to the fact
that she happened to have sensi
BILE Legislature when one was needed.
If West Virginia had acted like Ala
bama she would have prospered
more than that State has done, be-
cause her natural resources are great
er. Our politicians said, "the debt
ought to be settled and will be set
tied some day. 1t would be infinite
ly to the advantage Of the State to
adjust it at once; hut the people are
such fools / am afraid to act as the
people would have me act did they
know the real truth. "-West Vir-
ginia Democrat Of Nov II.
The above clippings from our ex-
changes furnish much food for
thought, in view of our great, unsur-
passed natural resources which must
remain unproductive until capital is
secured for their development. Right
here in this county we have iron ore
in inexhaustible quantity, certainly
equal, if not superior, to any found
in Alabama, and at distance of not
more than fifteen miles from this ore
we have the best coking coal in the
world, vastly better than that of Bir-
mingham, which makes coke supe-
rior to the celebrated coke of Con-
nelsville, and which is identical
with the coking coal of New river.
Yet not furnace has been built,
not a mine has been opened, simply
from the want of connecting rail
road, or in other words, from the
want of money for which, if it is be
gotten at all, we must look abroad.
And while capital pours into Ala
! bama none can be cotton for similar
enterprises of much better promise
in this State, and we do not have to
go far to find the reason, or at least
q reason sufficient in itself. when we
consider the timidity of capital to
explain the difference.
Now, we are by no means prepared
to Say that this State is justly liable
for any part, great or small, of the
old debt of Virginia, but we do say
that this is an open, undetermined
question which demands prompt and
decisive settlement. Let it be ascer-
tanned and determined at once and
forever whether we owe anything or
not, and if we owe nothing that will
be the end of it, and if we owe any
thing, be it much or little, let pro-
vision be made for its prompt settle
ment and adjustment on the best
terms that can be fairly and honest
ly obtained. This course is impara-
lively demanded not more by public
policy than by common honesty;
and in our judgement it will be most
unwise for our lawmakers to evade
or postpone longer the consideration
and decision of this question. A
State to command capital must keep
its name,in money matters, free from
picion.--Greenbrier Indepen-
dent, Nou. 81.
We have not the slightest doubt.
could capital be had, the coal and
iron in Greenbrier would build q
city as quickly as Birmingham was
built. But, as things now stand, it
is practically impossible for one of
our home-people, no matter how
promising his enterprise, to find
money for it.-unless he has pri-
vate, back door staircase to some
powerful syndicate of capitalists.
We know several men in Greenbrier
who. (were this coal and iron in
Md. or Pa. could go to the financial
centres and raise money to develop
it; but. in the present conditions, no
sensible man, acquainted with the
situation, would undertake so hope
less task.
Knowing these things as we do,
we are amazed that men of intelli-
gence, whose personal fortunes are
tied up with fortunes of this State,
stand idle and do nothing to remedy
the situation. Is it true, West Va.
does not contain men equal to the
occasion ? Must our home-people
be rooted out and give place to a
new people who will breed men with
sense enough and courage enough to